


Dearest Alfendi

by briefartisan



Category: Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25387387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/briefartisan/pseuds/briefartisan
Summary: He had promised her when she was young. After their father disappeared that he would always be there for her when she needed him the most.
Relationships: Alfendi Layton & Katrielle Layton, Alfendi Layton/Hilda Pertinax
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Dearest Alfendi

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written a fanfic in a while. I hope this is good.

“Hello?” the soft voice comes over the phone as she answers after the third ring. The flat was empty, and she was alone.  


_“This is Commissioner Barton from Scotland Yard. I am calling at this hour to inform you an incident has occurred. Inspector Alfendi Layton has been injured in the line of duty and is being transported to the hospital.”_ The commissioner continued but she seemed to have not taken notice.  


Hands trembled as she held onto the phone. The weight of it seeming heavier than she had remembered as tears welled up in her eyes. _Alfendi._ Her only brother was injured and alone. The line seemed to have gone dead as she hung up. Frantically looking around for her shoes and coat as she looked for anything to write with. To let Granny Rosa, know where she was going. Her throat trembles as she barely makes it down the stairs as the tears fall from her cheeks. Running down the road in a hurry. Forgetting in the moment she owned transport of her own. A bike that had been gifted to her by said sibling she ran so desperately to now. Shoes hit the ground faster than she could have imagined. Curls flared into the wind as she ran.  


He could not be hurt. Not her brother. _Not Alfendi._ He was far too stubborn to go down that easily.  


\----  


Doors slide open as she runs through. Out of breath and holding onto her knees as she pants. Tears were dried against her face as she looks around. Brown curls settle against her back as hair stuck to her face. There was panic and commotion as she came to the desk in the front. Hands settling on the cool counters as the receptionist looks up. “How can I help you?”  


“Please I’m looking for my brother. Alfendi Layton?” Her voice is desperate. She had no news. Saw no one she knew as the receptionist looks over the patient board. “Room 205 after he’s released out of surgery.” Surgery? What had happened? No, she would find out as she looks to see if the elevators are available. But she couldn’t wait. Slamming the door open to the stairwell she went up two flights before coming to the floor where Alfendi would be. Where she found the familiar faces of his coworkers. Hilda and Justin were both there. Sitting outside the room as Hilda rose from her seat upon seeing Katrielle.  


“Katrielle…” Hilda seemed surprised to see her. She seemed shaken and she could not get rid of the feeling that something horrible had happened to her brother. Something they wouldn’t tell her. Heels click against the floor as Hilda places her hands on her shoulders. Her tears returning. “Where is he? What happened?!” She demands.  


Hilda sat her down. Her golden locks falling over her shoulders as she sits beside her. “You just missed him. They brought him into surgery as soon as he got here. Are you sure you want me to tell you this now? Do you want me to get ahold of someone to come to tell you?” She asks the youngest Layton sincerely. Katrielle merely shook her head. She was seventeen. She could handle this. “Al was shot in the line of duty. In pursuit of a criminal of a case he was investigating.” That’s all Hilda would tell her. Gently rubbing her shoulder as they waited.  


Katrielle pulls her legs in towards herself as she buries her fact into her knees. Her sobs becoming muffled. It was unbecoming of a proper gentlewoman to make a fuss. But this once she knew she could. Alfendi was all she had left. Whenever she needed anything Alfendi was there for her. Dread seeping into her about what was happening. Was he going to be okay?  


\---  


Rosa had come an hour later after she had arrived. “Gran!” Katrielle sobs as she went to the elder woman. Raising her arms, she embraces the youngest Layton holding her close. Gently rubbing her back as Katrielle sobbed into her shoulder. It seemed to have gotten worse in the hour. There was still no word about Alfendi’s condition. No doctor had come to them yet and it wasn’t looking good. “Oh, Katrielle dearest. He’s going to be okay. Don’t you worry now dearie.” Rosa’s voice rises as she brings the child closer to her. She had always looked out for the Layton family. Ever since she was assigned to work for Hershel all those years ago, she had grown fond of the children that came under his care. Flora had moved away. With a life of her own. She had Alfendi and Katrielle to keep her highly entertained. Comedians the both of them. “Come now dearie.” She motioned for them to sit. She was not getting younger and taking a bus here was rough on her lower back and knees. Katrielle needed her. Having promised their father to care for them in his absence. Thought it seemed Alfendi seemed to have taken care of that on the professor’s last departure for a case. It seemed so long ago now.  


Katrielle sobbed and sobbed. For a while Rosa thought there’d be no end to the girls tears. Alfendi’s coworkers having left to busy themselves downstairs in the hospital cafeteria. Getting coffee as the two of them remained behind on those benches. While they were not the comfiest, they were not overly horrible to sit on. The girl lay in her lap as she gently pets her head. Fingers running through the young girls’ curls in order to try and calm her. It seemed to have worked. She soon found Katrielle asleep in her lap. Her shoes lay in front of their bench as she curled up closer to her. “Sweet Katrielle. Don’t you worry I’ll wake you as soon as someone comes. Don’t you worry about a thing now.” Rosa told her gently. She didn’t know if Katrielle would hear her or not. She seemed content to be remain asleep in her lap for the time being.  


Alfendi had remained in surgery for two hours now.  


\---  


Upon the third hour someone finally emerged from the doors that lead to the operating rooms. A chart remained in his hand as Rosa gently shook Katrielle to wake her. Rosa had hoped this was good news regarding their boy. Though she couldn’t call him much of a boy anymore. But he would always be that to her. Katrielle slipped her shoes on as she rose to her feet as well as Justin and Hilda did. Rosa remained seated for a moment longer. Gaining momentum to get herself up as the man in white approached them. “You are the Layton family correct?” He asks. Unsure if they were. Katrielle nodded as she came closer. “Please sir…Al is he..is he alright? Please tell me he’s okay.” She asks in such a quiet voice it almost seems unlike her. Rosa slowly follows her resting a hand on her shoulder. Both listening to the increasingly annoying sound of Hilda clicking her heel to await the news.  


“Mr. Layton is incredibly lucky to even be alive. The bullet we recovered nearly missed his heart. He is still in critical condition and we’ll be keeping an awfully close eye on him. You may go in to see him in a few minutes.” Delivering news of any kind were not as easy to doctor’s as they should be. To tell an already frazzled family bad news seemed to break them.  


“Katrielle you go in dearest. I have to talk with the doctor a moment okay?” Rosa’s voice carries as Katrielle looks back and nods. Katrielle nods as she goes in to see her older brother. Unprepared for what she might find inside she tightens the grip on her own arm as she enters.  


The room was dark. The few lights that were on were the ones nearest Alfendi’s bed. Blue eyes gaze upon the form inside of the bed. It was him. Breath hitched in her throat as she approaches the bed. Taking note of the things her brother had been hooked up to. Wires seemed to come from everywhere. The constant beeping of one of them drew her attention. A monitor that kept beeping telling her Alfendi was alive. His heart still beat. “I mustn’t cry.” She tells herself. Already feeling tears coming back up on her. Hilda was the only other person inside of the room. She dared not come closer and from the look in her eye she suspected perhaps she and Alfendi were more than just friends. The way she looked so caringly upon his form. Just standing looking at the end of his bed as she came closer. 

The loose hospital gown made him look so thin. So helpless.  


Her hands push the chair that was in the corner closer as she sits down beside Alfendi’s bed. There were two IV’s leading to his right wrist. The other wires she couldn’t account for. Hadn’t a clue what they did as she gently takes his hand free of anything attached. His hand had always been so much bigger than hers. Ever since they were young it had always been like that. His fingers were long and bony sure, but she loved everything about her brother. She watched in silence as Alfendi’s chest rose and fell. He could breath on his own. That was a relief. Swallowing the knot in her throat she inches closer to the bed. Raising her other hand to push the burgundy colored hair out of her brother’s face. He still felt so warm. But he didn’t move. Not even a twitch at her taking his hand. “Al…what were you doing?” She asks quietly. Knowing she wouldn’t get an answer.  


She felt a hand on her shoulder as she looks up. Tears began flowing down her cheeks again as Rosa gently pat them away with her handkerchief. It was much too quiet in the room. The only noise coming from the monitors that beeped letting them know he was still there with them. A saddened look crossed Rosa’s face as she looked upon Alfendi’s face. She would write to Flora immediately to let her know what had happened. Looking down to Katrielle she gently pats her shoulder. “I’ll be back Katrielle. Only be a moment I’ll get us something to eat.” She tells her. “Okay.” The only word to escape Katrielle’s lips as the older woman smiled sadly. She had only looked like this one other time in her life as she shook her head.  


She wore that look seven years ago.  


\---  


Katrielle’s hand tightened upon Alfendi’s own. A thought maybe if she squeezed hard enough, he would wake up and yell at her for doing so. Just like he used to. “You can’t leave me you understand me? You can’t leave me alone too.” She pleads with her brother. Hershel Layton disappeared seven years ago. Ever since then it been the two Layton children against the world. Or so Alfendi would say often and most dramatically. It would make her laugh when he did. He was always such an odd brother, but his quirks were what she loved. Even if she could be a brat to him, he still loved her.  


“Alfendi Layton if you can hear me, I’m ordering you to not die. Do you understand me? That’s not what a gentleman does.” She quips very quickly. Very firmly. Even he didn’t respond surely, he could hear her. Perhaps even feel when she pokes at his nose. Something she did often and would upset him. He hated people touching his nose for some reason. Perhaps he was self-conscious about the size of it? She always thought his nose was unique. He would never tell her the reason for not wanting it to be touched. Didn’t mean she listened. Seeing him get angry about a prob or a playful poke always fill her with the utmost joy. Especially when she was younger, and she would give chase and watching her taller sibling fumble in trying to catch her. It always was such fun. But now? He didn’t make any movement if he had felt it. A deep sigh escapes from her as her thumb rubs over the top of his hand. She could feel the callouses that had grown over the years on them. There was one on his right ring finger where his pencil would press against. She could feel it there. The roughness from constant tinkering as a young teen. She saw the thin scars from cuts and scrapes even the scar in his palm from a small spill as a child. Long before she came into his life.  


There was no clock in the room, but she knew it was getting late. The light outside came from the streetlamps. If Rosa had come back, she hadn’t heard her. Staying right by her brothers’ side as he lay in that bed. Blissfully unaware of the events going on around him.  


Her attention was only caught when a young nurse came into the room. Gently touching her shoulder. “I’m sorry miss but visiting hours are done for the day. You can come back tomorrow if you’d like.” Her voice was sweet and gentle as she looked to the corner of the room. A second chair being occupied by Rosa who seemed to have dozed off. “You’re going to make sure he’ll be alright, won’t you?” She asks the nurse who merely smiles and nods. “It is our duty to see he gets the best care.”  


Having been satisfied with that answer she slowly rises from her seat. Using her free hand to flatten her dress as she leans over and presses a kiss to Alfendi’s forehead. Whispering so he may only hear. “I have to go now. But I’ll be back tomorrow.” A silent promise as she pulls herself away from the others bedside. Letting go of his hand and gently setting it on top of his chest. She didn’t want to leave him here on his own. With strangers. They didn’t know him like they did. Unfortunately, she had to. Approaching Rosa’s chair, she gently shakes her shoulder as the older woman wakes. “Come on Granny, let’s go home.” Her voice is barely above a whisper as she helps her to her feet. Her eyes lay on Alfendi’s form one last time as they leave for the night.  


\---  


Her gaze looks upon the empty room that once belonged to her older brother. It seemed not too long ago the three of them all lived under one roof. Alfendi still occasionally stayed the night here and there. But he had his own space as he should. His flat wasn’t too far from his job at Scotland Yard. A ten-minute walk. She had walked it many times. There was a great sandwich shop along the way, and she knew from Alfendi it was one of the best. Her brother had sacrificed a lot for her. A lot of his pursuits were put on hold when their father’s letters stopped coming. He had come home to help take care of her. Fingers run over the rough wood of the door frame as she looks at the empty bed her brother used to occupy so much. The room was barren save a few things Alfendi said he hadn’t needed anymore. A few pairs of sweaters and clothes in the closet in case he should stay the night. Long hours at the Mystery Room made him forget how much time lapse and he’d be too tired to find a way back to his own flat. So, they always made sure the bed was prepared and the clothes he left were cleaned and pressed. Ready for him.  


Katrielle flicked the light on into the room. Rosa had gone off to bed and she should have done the same, but she couldn’t sleep. Not knowing Alfendi was alone in that hospital bed. Opening the closet door, she pulls out one of her brother’s favored sweaters as she pulls it close to herself. It was a deep red color just like his hair. She had picked it out for him one Christmas and doted to leave it here should he ever have need of it. The material was soft as she moves to the bed in the center of the room. The frame creaking slightly as she sits on the edge looking down at the sweater. Many a night she had crawled into bed with her brother seeking his safety from night terrors or to combat her loneliness. He never turned her away even as she got older. But would always make sure to sleep in an opposite direction when she got older. They would talk for hours in this bed. Just the two of them. Talk about anything on their mind. The best part was when Alfendi would laugh in his sleepy state. It was more of a deep hum than a laugh and she knew her brother would soon doze off.  


It wasn’t too terribly cold, but she still pulled that sweater over her head. Pulling her hair through as she sat on the bed, he once would be found in. Simply laying on top of the covers and staring at the hallway. The light was still on but it didn’t seem to phase her in the slightest. A whimper escaping her as she cries silently. She didn’t want to wake Rosa as she curls up on her brothers’ bed. Fingers pick at the comforter as she buries her face into it. She didn’t ask for much. Not really. But she wanted her brother to be okay. She just wanted Alfendi back.  


He had promised her when she was young. After their father disappeared that he would always be there for her when she needed him the most. _Liar._ She needed him now and he wasn’t here.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I'm planning a second chapter for this. If I should continue please don't hesitate to let me know. I'd appreciate it.


End file.
